So if you haven’t heard, MTV is holding a contest for the best breakout artist from Los Angeles, and the homies Thurz & Y-O from U-N-I are in the final three! The winner gets to perform at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 7th (which will be hosted by the hilarious Russell Brand, chyea).

Here’s where you come in: we need everyone to head over to http://la.mtv2.com/ and vote as many times as you can for U-N-I. The underground hip-hop community managed to help Substantial win the last MTV contest like this, so we need to do it again. If you’re really bored, pretend typing in the captchas is keyboard practice. Eh? Ehhhh? Ok, fine. Do it for good music instead.

I’m so mad at myself for blogging the trailer to this special last week and then missing most of it when it aired tonight. I guess if it’s not in the Blackberry, I just forget to do it. Damn.

Anyway, here’s one segement where Kanye and Sway met up with Lorenzo Zarate, a veteran from the war in Iraq. Not only did Lorenzo come home with post traumatic stress disorder, but he recently lost his job, his wife is pregnant, and they’re about to be short on their rent. Luckily, Mr. West, Sway, and MTV stepped in to help him out…big time. I especially liked that they set him up with a mentor-ship at the hip-hop station in Austin, because honestly, there’s waaaaay too many people out there putting everything they have towards rapping. Just because technology has afforded you the option, doesn’t mean you should pick up that mic. Hopefully Lorenzo gets his health in order and his family can have the future they deserve.

I spotted this clip at Eskay‘s so I haven’t searched the MTV site to see if the rest of the show is up there, but it better be. I caught the last segment live, then searched the schedule trying to DVR the replay. To my horror, MTV would rather show 21012910219 episodes of From G’s To Gents and America’s Best Dance Crew over something with a purpose and actual substance. Wack. At least they commissioned it in the first place though.

Trailer for an upcoming special airing Monday at 10 PM on MTV. Kanye teamed up with Choose or Lose to help right the wrongs our government has put our soldiers through over the past few years. I’m interested to see what exactly they’re doing to help, because a meet and greet with ‘Ye doesn’t quite pay the rent. Should be dope though, peep it on Monday night.